Links Medical Centre 4 Hermitage Place, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 8BW | Tel: 0131 554 1036

Prescribing GLP-1RA (Weight loss medications)

Posted by: markh - Posted on:

It has been agreed across Edinburgh that the prescribing of GLP-1RA medications for weight loss is NOT GMS work and practices have no obligation to take this on.  This position is fully supported by the LMC and further supported by the SGPC.

This position applies to the GLP-1RA indication for weight loss and does not apply to the diabetes indication which is a separate issue.

The potential benefit of these medications in terms of weight loss is not being questioned by this advice.  

Supporting patients wishing to lose weight should form a key part of any public health strategy, however careful consideration needs to be given to the practicalities of delivering such a service.  Time and appointments are needed to assess patients, provide dietary advice, demonstrate how to use the medication, issue prescriptions, monitor response and any adverse effects.  

General Practice has neither time nor appointments to offer and therefore there is no capacity to take on this new, unfunded, workstream.

General Practice has enormous potential, but a longstanding lack of investment has degraded our service to such an extent that delivering just a basic level of care is now a daily challenge.  The constant shift of work to General Practice without accompanying resource cannot continue.  

If there are any questions about this advice, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the LMC reps or office team.  We would be interested to hear of any issues encountered on this topic.  

There is a separate ongoing issue about the private prescriptions of GLP1-RA and other drugs but we will address that separately.